States Interview @ the TLA in Philadelphia, PA

Bryan and Stephen Laurenson (formerly in Copeland) were kind enough to take some time to answer some questions for Audio Arsenal. To learn more about States check them out on their website, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Alicia: Please introduce yourself and the part that you play in States.

Stephen: I’m Stephen Laurenson and I play guitar in States

Bryan: I’m Bryan Laurenson and I also play guitar

A: Being in different bands previously, how did you guys actually end up forming?

B: Well Steven and I were in a band called Copeland. I was in Copeland for about 8 years and Stephen was in the band for about 4 and Mindy, our singer, was in a band called Lydia. Pretty much around the same time we made a decision to end Copeland and we were playing a farewell tour and she had made a decision to leave her band and it was literally just kind of a coincidental, perfect timing situation. We had toured with her in the past and Steven and her were really good friends and Steven and I knew whatever we did next after Copeland we’d be doing it together. We kind of approached her and she had already had the idea of maybe playing together so we just kinda started writing songs together to see how it went and we clicked and have just been forming it after that.

A: Do you feel that the fans that carried over from your previous projects have some sort of expectation of the type of sound that States would have?

S: Yeah I think, for sure. I think they’re all maybe wanting it to sound like our two previous bands or a combination of the two. Unfortunately I don’t think it sounds too much like the previous stuff but the response has been pretty great. To be honest it was a lot better than I was expecting. I thought there would be a little bit more harshness towards starting a new project but it’s been great. I hope we met a lot of their expectations.

B: Yeah, I think whenever you come from any band that has any type of moderate success people identify you with that. Fans are always bummed out when bands break up so there’s always an expectation of living up to something you’ve already done and have achieved and you’re never gonna make everyone happy. So it’s in the back of our minds that kids are going to expect something specific. I know there are going to be kids that like it less or we never quite hit the same chord that we did in our previous bands buy you just gotta do what you love and we’ve been really fortunate so far that most of our fans have seemed to really come on board with us and it’s been cool to see.

A: Do you have any plans for after this east coast tour?

B: We have a week left of this little run and then pretty much the rest of this year we’re going to be writing and the goal is to be in the studio recording a full length record in January but it’s all kind of tentative and things could always change. But our goal right now is to get in the studio in January to do a record and hopefully be touring shortly after that.

A: What is the biggest issue you see in the music industry? Have you experienced it and if so, how did you overcome it?B: Well I mean obviously the first thing that comes to mind is the digital age and with illegal downloading. I think when the internet started taking off with music it was a huge benefit for unsigned bands and I still think it is to a certain degree.It can be a ‘Joe Shmo” band in the middle of nowhere and record in your parents basement and put it online and all the sudden you can have fans all over the world.I think that’s completely revolutionized the industry.But, the flip side, the illegal downloading is a really big issue.I think people tend to forget that it hurts the artist just as much as it does the labels and even though the labels are the ones that profit the most from record sales, record sales still mean a lot to bands in terms of how they get on to tours and the kind of deals they can see in other facets.So even more than just a financial standpoint, if a band can’t sell records because of illegal downloading it hurts them across the board.I think it’s become a really tough place for the middle ground indie bands.So it’s just a matter of changing the with the flow of how people want to find music and I think labels are a little slow to find what works but I think there are some changes coming on and, I don’t know, it’s going to be a really interesting next five years in terms of how labels operate and how bands get out there.

A: If you could sum up States in one sentence for people who haven't had a chance to check out your music, what would you say?S: Energetic, exciting, a little mellow, happy?That’s not really a sentence.B: That sounds like a string of words…S: I don’t know.B: States is music that you will like and your parents might like also.S: Or our parents…they like it.B: It’s music that we like and that our parents seem to like also.S: There ya go

A: What do you miss the most when on tour?S: I don’t miss much…I mean I literally have not owned a dresser since I joined Copeland which was ’06 so when I go home and I do laundry, I put it back in my suitcase because in Copeland we were on the road so much and then during breaks I was either visiting friends or family.I haven’t really settled into a place and kinda moved around.So I really developed the road as kinda my home in a sense.But I’ve recently moved to Nashville and I really really love it there.So I guess, what would I miss in Nashville?The amazing food, especially a place called Michel’s Deli, and my roommates.I love my roommates.B: I used to be that way when I first join Copeland but I’m older now and I’m married so obviously you miss home a lot and you miss your wife. Just the normalcy of your daily routine and seeing friends but there’s a lot of things that when you’re home from tour that you kinda miss as well.So you’re always missing a little bit of something but definitely home life and loved ones.

A: If you could choose any animal to be States’ mascot, what would it be and why?S: We just got one!B:Yeah, we bought a mascot last night at a truck stop. S: What is he called?B: He’s a monkey with a big mustache.S: He’s like a cross between a lemur, a monkey, and an old dude with a mustache.B: He looks like a very wise monkeyS: His name is Richy Rich Richard Dick.So we have a mascot and he’s a monkey of some sort.So a monkey I guess, mustache monkey.

A: If you could punch any celebrity in the face, who would it be and why?S: Haha we can’t do that! That’s so mean. Oh man that’s bad.B: Punch a celebrity? There’s gotta be someone.S: Uh The SituationB: Really? He seems like a nice guy, isn’t he?S: No, he seems like a tool.I don’t know, that’s the only one I can immediately think of.B: I’ve never watched Jersey Shore so I don’t know. A: I mean he calls himself the Situation.B: Hey, if I had a good name for myself I’d call it too.S: Yeah, no you wouldn’t. If you start talking about yourself in the third person, I’ll disown you as a brother.B: We’ve got to think of someone who would never ever know I wanted to punch them in the face.S: Like the Situation is ever going to know I want to punch him in the face.B: Fine then I’ll go with the Situation.It’ll be a double punch.S: No, come on.B: Russell Crow maybe, cause I actually really like him as an actor but he’s always in fights and he’s probably someone to get in a fun fight with, like a scrappy dude.S: Mel Gibson’s another one. After all those tapes, he seems like he’s be bad.We’re very peaceful people.A: If you were abandoned on Mars with a toaster and a ukulele, which would you use to defend yourself in case of alien invaders and why?S: That’s awesome.Wait, a ukulele and a toaster and we have to use one of them to defend ourselves?Oh a toaster, that’s easy.B: Why? What would you do with it?S: I would chuck it at them.It’s hard and metal, a mean a little ukulele it’s just a little wooden guitar.It would get hit and then it just smashes.A toaster you can bash someone with.B: Do we have electricity to plug the toaster in?S: We’re on Mars…so unless we find an alien ship we could plug it in real quick.B: Well then I’ll take the ukulele cause you can actually swing it, you can’t swing a toaster.S: Yeah, you can use the chord, swing it aroundB: Alright, fine I’m going with toaster. You can use it as a mace.

A: Okay well that was my last question.S: That was a very good closer.

A: So do you have anything left to say to your fans?S: Thanks for the support and coming out to these few shows on the East coast and for buying the EP or downloading it or whatever.Thanks for listening to it. B: Check out our Twitter and our Facebooks and we’ll be keeping everyone updated on what’s coming up next.